Box-fastener



(No Model) J. E. MERGOTT.

BOX FASTENER.

No. 428,726. Patented-May 27, 1890.

WITNESSES: INVENTDH'.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JULIUS E. MERGOTT, OF NEIVARK, N EIV JERSEY. I

BOX-FASTEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 428,726, dated May 27, 1890.

Application filed September 4, 1889. Serial No, 322,951. (No model.)

Improvements in Catches or Fasteners for Boxes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompa-nying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Myinvention relates to improvements upon the catch for fastening the lids of boxes for which Letters Patent No. 258,788 have been granted to me May 30, 1882; and the invention consists in the peculiar construction of the fastening device with reference to a cheaper production of the same and a better means of securing the several parts of the fastener to the body of the box and the lid.

The invention furthermore relates to an improvement in the arrangement of the parts which interlock and engage with each other to fasten the lid in its closed position, and has for its object to produce a fastening device or catch to secure the lids of boxes, the holding and locking plates of which are provided with oppositely-arranged portions at right angles to the body portion of the several parts of the catch, in the same plane therewith, having centrally-arranged teeth or prongs struck up therein and bent at right angles thereto, all of said parts being arranged substantially as willbe hereinafter described, and the purposes of which are to produce a fastening device in which the teeth are spaced far apart, and thereby a greater bearing-surface is secured and also greater holding power.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying sheet of drawings, in which similar reference-letters are employed to indicate corresponding parts in each of the several views.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is atop View or plan of a box and its lid, showing the arrangement of my improved fastening device thereto. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the box, and Figs. 3 and4 are sections through lines 00 and y in Figs. 1 and 2, respectively. Fig. 5 is a blank from which that part of the fastener secured to the lid or the cover of the box is struck up, and Fig. 6 is a perspective of the same part bent into shape. Fig. 7 represents a blank from which the lower part of the fastener provided with a lip or loop is struck up, and Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the same.

In said views, A indicates the body of a box, and B the lid. To the body portion of the box is secured the lower or holding plate a of the fastening device, while the catching or locking plate I) is secured to the lid. The holding-plate a is so constructed as to be provided with the portions a and a extending out therefrom at right angles on opposite sides, said portions being provided with centrally-arranged prongs or teeth a formed integrally or struck up thereon on the inner sides of said portions a and (E, which are bent at right angles, or approximately so, to the said portions and pass into and through perforations in the front board of the body portion ofthe box and are turned over and clinched on the opposite or inner side of the front board, as shown more especially in Figs. 3 and 4:. An upwardly-projecting portion of the holding-plate a is provided at or near its upper edge with a catching or holding loop or lip a which is struck up on said plate and formed integrally therewith, as is illustrated in Figs. 7 and S. On the lid Bis arranged said locking-plate b, which is secured thereto by means of prongs or teeth b struck up and centrally arranged in the oppositely-projecting portions 1) and 12 formed integrally with and at right angles to the body portion of said locking-plate, similar to those described in the above in connection with the holding-plate, and said teeth I) are forced through perforations in the lid and clamped on the opposite side thereof, as in Fig. 3.

The locking-plate b is arranged in such a manner on the lid of the box so that the tongue I), which is provided with a hole or opening b therein, projects down over the lid and the side of the box, and the upper edge of said hole engages with the inclined and outwardly-projecting lip a on the holding-plate, and thereby secures the lid on the box until released by means of pressure exerted against the inner side of the downwardly-projecting tongue, which is bent out wardly at Z) to enable the insertion of the finger-nail beneath the same for that purpose.

As heretofore made, fastening-clamps of this class were secured to the box or lid by means of small nails or screws. On account of the thinness of the wood the several parts of such fasteners, which are more especially adapted for use 011 cigar-boxes, constantly pullout, and thereby cause a great annoyance.

In providing the parts with prongs or teeth formed integrally thereon and forcing the latter through the perforations in. the thin boards and bending the teeth over on the opposite sides there is no danger of the several parts becoming loose or lost.

In providing the plates a and h with the teeth-carrying portions arranged at right angles on opposite sides of the said plates and having the centrally-arranged teeth or prongs struck up thereon the surface between said prongs acts as a solid bearing against the side of the box or the lid, and as thus constructed the perforations necessary for the reception of the said teeth or prongs are placed far enough apart to avoid the splitting of the boards while perforating the same and securing the catch thereto, and thereby any possible danger of any one of the parts of the catch from being torn off or forced out of the box is avoided.

As shown in the drawings and more especially in Fig. 3, the downwardly-projeeting tongue I) being made of spring metal has a tendency of constantly pressing against the side of the box, and when the lid is closed the opening in said spring-tongue engages with the loop or lip on the holding-plate a,

and thereby locks the box until said catch has been released.

The improved fastening or locking device for boxes herein described can readily be secured in the perforations in the sides and the lid and firmly secured thereto and the parts easily manipulated. The construction is simple and cannot get loose and the lid opened accidentally. All the parts are stamped into their proper shape by means of dies and require no skilled labor in the manufacture of the same.

Of course the design of the several parts can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of my invention.

lIavin g thus described my invention, what I claim is The combination, with the body portion and the lid of a cigar-box, of a fastener consisting of a holding-plate a, provided with oppositely-projecting portions (4 and a having teeth or prongs a struck up thereon for securing said plate on the outside of the body portion, a locking-plate I), provided with oppositely-projecting portions 1) and 11 having teeth or prongs b struck up thereon for securing said plate to the lid, and a springtongue on the said plate 7/ extending down and over said holding-plate and engaging with a holding means on said plate for holding or locking the parts of the catch when the lid of the box is closed, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the invention set forth above I have hereunto set my hand this 3d day of September, 1889.

JULIUS E. MERGOT".

\Vitnesses:

FREDK. C. FRAENTZEL, Funnx. RICE. 

